2012 Mayan Apocalypse Ale: Tasting Notes – One Year Later

It’s 2014, and it would seem the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t happen, or at least, it’s slow to start. Either way, the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Ale is tasting great. Malty and very smooth, this strong ale/winter warmer style was brewed on the night of the 2012 winter solstice, detailed here. This beer was first reviewed after ageing only 2 month, where I was keen to see how this ale would taste fresh. Now with over 14 months of ageing, I review the same beer, interested on how time has changed this ale, for better or worse. Cheers, and happy brewing!

Review
Pouring into a Belgian ale glass, the 1-year old Mayan Apocalypse ale has a clear, deep amber appearance with fluffy, light tan head. The aroma is quite complex, approaching bock-like with sweet malt, dark fruit edging on black cherry, and deep caramel tones. Some oxidation is noted, although not overwhelming, and expected with a 14 months old, bottle-conditioned ale. Taking a sip, deep malt is dominate in flavor with complimentary fruitiness, on the chocolate-covered cherry and orange-peel spectrum. On the palate, this ale has noticeable sweetness, with a smooth, medium body, that doesn’t linger on the finish. Overall, with age, this beer has become a complex, malty strong ale, perfect for cold, fireside-y nights that you can sip and enjoy.

Recipe
For convenience, I am re-posting the recipe below. The 2012 Mayan Apocalypse ale has quite a complicated grist, with the goal of making this one a very malty, complex beer that would hold up with age. The maltiness and color of this beer was enhanced with additions of Munich, black, and Crystal 60L malts. From the tasting notes, it would seem these additions created the intense, malty flavors and aroma. Specifically, I think the Crystal 60 L and black malt additions complimented the fruity esters of the English ale yeast S-04, creating the chocolate-covered cherry, black cherry, and orange-peel notes in this beer.

Thanks for reading! On a side note, for a future re-brew, I would drop the wheat and carapils additions, and just add more 2-row. Also, you can drop the sugar addition as well if you use a more attenuative english yeast strain, like Wyeast 1098 British ale. Cheers!